This past week, our FY100 students engaged with ideas in creational theology.
Students fell passionately on two sides of the issues of caring for aesthetics in worship, including quality visual art in our connecting with God, the importance or non-importance of buildings, and the concept of seeing the physical world as good rather than inherently evil or passing away.
Should a building or a worship environment be beautiful? Who does it serve if it is? Why is this important, or unimportant biblically?
This week our students respond in 250 words or so, how they interacted with the ideas presented. Use the Scriptures to back up your reflection.
If you’re not in the class, feel free to interact with our students.
21 Comments
The Bible takes great pains to describe the intricate details that went into the building of the Tabernacle and the Temple. In fact some of the artisans are even portrayed as having been given special gifting to complete their respective tasks. These artisans then filled the Temple and Tabernacle with images from creation. This has led some scholars see the Tabernacle and Temple as being a microcosm of the universe - representing the whole of creation. The Old Testament, then, both affirms the importance of beauty in worship as well as goodness of creation.
It would be very tempting but, very Gnostic, to say that the while Old Testament was concerned with the concrete and legal, but the New Testament is concerned with the more important spiritual forms behind these shadows. The New Testament also affirms the goodness of the creation – indeed all of creation is part of God’s grand redemptive project.(Rom 8, Rev 21).
Whatever we do in our communal worship must be in the context of this cosmic redemption. It must affirm the goodness of creation and portray the glory of the new creation. Communal worship can never be only about private spiritual experience but instead is about articulating God’s grand beautiful story of His good creation.
The most appropriate place for beauty of any kind is in the context of communal worship.
I’m really happy to see that the goodness of creation is taking a central spot in what is unfolding there with you guys. For me that is the critical issue. Does God’s love for the world just extend to people or is God passionately in love with all the God created? The more I wrestle with the latter the more I see God’s hand at work in all of creation. Justice makes sense and hope becomes real. From here it is only a short step to a sacramental view of creation that allows us to participate in amazing ways with the Divine, and BTW makes our worship come alive in awesome new ways. I’ll be watching this topic unfold.
In class, we argued about the need for beauty in a worship place. I truly believe that being made in the image of God, we hold a great appreciation for beauty. We see what He created and a sense of peace is released in us as we agree in our hearts saying, “It is good.” Yet, I do not think that creating a beautiful worship space is in and of itself necessary. As Ralph Waldo Emerson beautifully said, “Beauty is God’s handwriting – a wayside sacrament. Welcome it in every fair face, in every fair sky, in every fair flower, and thank God for it as a cup of blessing.” It is not simply about the environment of beauty found in the correct placement of foliage, stunning architecture, etc. From my opinion, the deepest beauty in creation is a human being who is living as God purposed them. A sunset can blow us away, but a year later we may completely forget what it looked like. But, if you met a person with a love for God that runs deep into their soul, there is something much deeper imprinted upon your heart that can last a lifetime.
As I went through my Bible looking for references for beauty, I came across an amazing pattern. I found that the phrase “beauty of holiness” was frequently used (Psalm 96:9; Psalm 29:2; 1 Chronicles 16:29; 2 Chronicles 20:21). I do not think it is coincidence that beauty is more often associated with holiness and God Himself, than it is with material things or plants and animals. I believe that in a worship setting, beauty can be helpful. When I say that, I do not mean that is always helpful or that it should be the main priority. You can draw people in with beauty and even make them feel temporarily at peace with the beauty around them, but that beauty will fade (Proverbs 31:30). I firmly believe that the focus should not be on the beauty of the worship setting, but the body of Christ with in the worship setting. If there is not virtue behind the beauty, beauty becomes withered and you can guarantee that the nice paint job will not keep people coming back. That may sound so harsh, and I apologize if it is. Sometimes we assume that because we are a church and hold the Truth – that is all the attraction we need. My answer to that is yes and no. Yes, the Truth is an incredible attraction. But, how can people see the beauty of the truth unless humans are trying by the grace of God to live it out? To express beauty is important, as God Himself is the essence and origin of beauty. Yet, we must always keep the beauty of our hearts as the first priority before we move on to other expressions of beauty.
The conversation on creation theology was great. It really made me think on the way that my church looks this issue. Does it matter where you worship? No it doesn’t. Should the church spend money on making a welcoming atmosphere, can we worship God through a building? Yes. The church can take each side, one that doesn’t care about what it looks like and the church that just cares about the building and loss sight of what they really gather for. Personally in church we have a of church that we out grew, the floor were sinking, people didn’t have any where to sit, we needed something a little bigger. Our church though did not have the finances to build a church so for the past three years we have been worship Sunday morning in a hockey arena’s gym. The gym atmosphere does not make our worship less powerful or it doesn’t change the way we worship. Also fundraising hasn’t been our main focus. The church as a body to this project and gave to God. When we need the new church God will tell us and help to provide and when that day comes I pray that our church will be beautiful but we will build it for God and not for the fame of the church. If churches just had a mind set of coming to place to worship and the building itself is act worship but it’s not the main focus, then having a beautiful building is fine but we can overdo it. We were born beautiful and in the image of our God, humans are creative and the place we worship is just a building but we can make it beautiful to honour God.
Dan… here is a longer but excellent reflection on the cost of beauty, by our favourite boater/blogger, Kim Petersen. I think it ties into your discussion. See http://chrysalisvoyage.com/wordpress/?p=71
This talk on creation theology was one that really challenged the way that I think.Because what is a church really?. How can you define it just by the way that it appears, there are many churches that meet in houses, warehouses, old builfdings and new buildings. Though it may be ascetically appalling it would not change the way that God is going to do business, on a personal level I feel that its is important to create a space were you can come in and be drawn in to the atmosphere a warm space that is inviting. We need to be careful that the building does not be come our consuming passion at the same time, because the minute that the building becomes the main focus is when people can get lost in the mix of things. Churches need to focus on building community’s of people reaching out with in there circles and helping others, creating a space for people to come and grow in the spirit. The building is just a tool in order to broaden the community’s base. God will still be there no matter were you meet whether its in a dorm room at S.S.U or down the street at S.C.V.C if you call upon Him he will meet you were you are and this will be good. Buildings that can create this warm atmosphere are important, but we need to be causes and not let the building become a consuming passion.
In class we had this wonderful discussion in regards to creational theology. Creational theology in that we live in a beautful world that is broken. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit redeeming. We work together with God when we share, give, sacrifice - we are participating with God in His redemptive project. To quote Dan, all truth is God’s truth, all beauty is God’s beauty.
The discussion on beautifying buildings to bring in people to the church seemed to cause much converstation. I personally, love going into buildings that are taken care of. Whatever that means to that building. We are to be stewards of what God has given us. We also must take into consideration that we can swing too far and devote all our time on what the physical space looks like and forget the broken people around us. One person within the class expressed that she becomes renewed when she walks into a well put together room that is beautiful, that it is evident that someone took time to create a space that is warm and inviting. I agree with this. Have you ever been to the old cathedrals in Europe were you walk in and it is so evident that someone took care to express the life that God has given them through painting or stain glass windows or the playing of the organ. I tend to stop and reflect in reverence the creator God.
Look around at the building you are in, carefully and painstakingly designed by an architect, why? Because he or she loves doing what they were created to do. Look at a piece of art, the depth involved, “a picture is worth a thousand words,” they say, why did the artist paint? Because he or she loves doing what they were created to do. Look at the people around you, beauty beyond words, why? Because God loves being creative. We are created in God’s image, to be creative people - big “c” Creator and small “c” creators. God rejoices in things that we create.
Worship of God can happen anytime, anywhere. However, when you have the opportunity to have a building, to create a space where people come specifically to meet with God, it is a heart issue. It is important to have a leadership team in tune with God, able to hear His voice and seek His face on church matters, even décor decisions. It is biblical to make the space for worship as beautiful as possible. God Himself gave specific directions in the Old Testament to Solomon about how to build the Temple, ornate and breathtaking as it must have been (1 Kings 6). My question is this, if beauty is not important to God, then why the exhaustively detailed outline of the Temple for Solomon to build and more importantly, why create so much beauty in the world? Being in an aesthetically pleasing atmosphere while worshipping God can be very helpful, calming and it can feel very safe. Take for instance, the i.d. space at SCV; it is absolutely beautiful thanks to a group of people who felt the need for a space to be together and to worship God in. The creating of such things can also be the way that people connect with God; it is how they worship, the way they were wired. Beauty is not essential to worship, however it is a vehicle with which we can worship God and a space in which to worship Him.
I believe that each individual experiences God in his or her personal way, therefore, to an extent there should be no guidelines. That being said, I as an individual find great peace and connection with God when surrounded by beauty. Whether this beauty comes from God’s outdoor creation, or His creation through others in buildings or art it does not matter. It is all, in a sense from Him and touches my heart when I experience it.
Some may say that a church shouldn’t indulge in making their building beautiful because the money could go to something better. In some situations that is absolutely true, but if a church prays about building ideas and hears a “go ahead” from God, it can be a blessing to everyone who enters. Some people experience God through comfortable and beautiful surroundings, and when welcoming people into a church it is important that they feel comfortable and at home rather than. In 2 Chronicles 3 Solomon made a pair of sculptured cherubim and overlaid them with gold (vs. 11.) He also overlaid the inside of the temple with six hundred talents of fine gold (vs 9.) Was this a greedy thing to do? Was Solomon simply building these things because they were pretty? No, in verse eight, this temple is referred to as the “Most Holy Place,” a place to connect with God.
I am in no way saying that God only reveals Himself in beauty. He is everywhere. Robyn English, an interior decorator was in our class last Wednesday and explained how she likes to create places where people can feel comfortable, and likes to provide peaceful places for people to worship, or just hang out. She went to Africa a few weeks ago for a mission trip and explained that when you don’t have all of the physical beauty around you, you begin to notice the beauty in people and other types of beauty. That was one of the things that caught my attention during this time. We as humans don’t need physical beauty to connect with Him. God will provide beauty wherever we go, in many different ways, as long as we are open to see it.
Hey I deffinitely posted on here but My comment is not coming up on Ray’s computer and it wont let me post the same thing again. Can anyone else see it?!?
We live in a society of cheap strip malls, ugly cookie cutter suburban homes, Wal-Marts, and K-Marts, and Targets, and Best Buys, and Malls that make their disgusting marks on the earth turning what once was quiet woods, serene lakes, or beautiful marshland into suburban sprawl. The west seems to be trapped in the mindset that cheaper is better and that the beauty of cities and towns does not matter. Every day another box building is constructed, another highway is paved, another mega-church puts up its dry wall, neon crosses, and plastic furnishings and it makes me cringe.
God created a sacred world. He put everything into His creation and speaks through His creation. This earth did not become evil or “secular” after the fall. It did become broken, but it remained sacred. God is not just in giant box churches or small church shacks, He is throughout all of the earth. He dwells in the slums and brothels of Brazil, the broken homes of the lost nations in Africa, the small igloos in northern Canada, and in the back alleyways and side streets of L.A.
In a world that is tearing up beauty and turning it into commercialism we need a place where we can come before the Lord and experience true beauty. Beauty certainly dwells inside our bodies, in the scriptures, in the songs we sing, and the prayers we pray, but in a world that is beauty-starved we need a place to be that is aesthetically beautiful; a place where light dances off the walls and where awe and wonder is instilled into our numb hearts and minds.
Aesthetic physical beauty that is dedicated to the Lord stirs something inside of us that cannot be stirred by liturgy or rites. I think it is wrong for a church to put all of their funds into a building, but I do believe that the building reflects the people that reside within its walls. We should take care of the things that God has given us and give Him glory through out buildings. Our buildings have the potential to reflect His beauty and invite people into the intimate place, the place of refuge, the place of pure beauty.
Again this is not to say that God is only in those buildings. He is present in all the earth. The church is the people who meet inside the building not the building itself. The church is a temple of the Holy Spirit just as our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and we must strive to reflect God’s beauty in both of these places (Corinthians 3:16-17). The body and the soul, the mind and the spirit, the sacred and the secular, the church buildings and the people who move in and out of them all are one in Christ and can reflect His beauty to the rest of the earth.
David, the worshipper who found God in the fields with his sheep, was very serious about the building of the temple. He knew that God was not only in the temple, but he wanted to make an offering to the Lord. The temple was a symbol of God’s love. It drew people closer to Him just as the smell of flowers or beauty in nature draws some people to Him. God has made a very creative world full of creative people, and I believe that some of that God-given creativity should go into our churches.
Is there a word limite??? Mine is only 500 words. Helppp
Dan,
I don’t get to your site very often, but this is a good question. I guess I have always felt that the temple of the OT is not the church of today. It wasn’t meant to be the “christian version” of the Solomon’s Temple. The temple was the place where God met humanity so to speak. Now, we are.
We as followers of Jesus are now the place where God meets the world. We, being the temple of God, are the holy place. Not the church. This also has to do with dualism.
Dualism can say that church is more sacred where other places are not. So we adorn our churches and make them lavish as to “honor God”. But to be honest, the sacred places are the places we put our feet to. I personally believe that a place is made sacred by bringing Jesus there. And that is what we do as followers of Christ. The bar you walk into. The classroom you sit in. The living room you watch tv in. Taking your kid to the zoo can be sacred. That’s all I got to say about that.
Peace.
Aw man, I think I need to get better at taking notes in class, especially writing down my own thoughts when they pop up… . But anyways, I really appreciated our discussion on Creational Theology. I had never heard of this term before. I found myself actually excited about it once we started into what defines Creational theology. It may help to quickly recap the ideas of Creational Theology as discussed in our class:
- There IS good in the physical world;
- God’s plan for redemption extends into redeeming ALL creation;
- All beauty is God’s beauty, all truth is God’s truth;
- Goodness of life can be enjoyed, the brokenness can be challenged;
- The act of creativity calls out creativity in others;
- We are creative partners in the creative and redemptive project;
- Creativity and music sensitizes people to the story all around them.
I found myself excited about this because it speaks to something deeper inside of me. It says something more of the world around me: God is intimate and involved with his creation. He works creatively and redemptively. God has made beauty in the created, physical world. He created and said it was good (Gen 1). Creation was made in such a way to bring men and women to be confronted with the evidence of God (Rom. 2). There is goodness and beauty to be appreciated.
I think creational theology is relevant to how we can view even our church buildings. God has given man the capacity for creativity, to be able to construct beautiful buildings and places of worship. As the imagebearers (using Dan’s term here) of God, our creativity brings him worship in its action and brings him worship by pointing us to the fact that there is a creator behind the beautiful things. There is ultimately a Creator God. There is a place for a beautiful buildings of worship. It can be a place to exercise the creative gifts we have been given in worship (which reflects the creativity andglory of God) and it is a place that God can call out to us, that beauty has a source. All beauty is God’s beauty and all truth is God’s truth. And as a painting has some of the painter in it, so the creation has the glimpse of the Creator in it. When we acknowledge the source of this wonderful beauty, Creator God, we also worship him. So in a beautiful building, as in creation, God calls us to himself.
Wow, so much more needs to be said, and I really don’t have the ability to think it through and express it concisely. I agree totally with my classmates that the church community is not about the building, and I don’t think it should be. There is a huge inner dimension of the heart that God calls beauty out of, which is expressed in community. But God uses beauty, physical or communal, to call hearts to himself.
Beautiful and strong ideas are brimming here, guys. Well done.
Hi Dan,
I left a comment here yesterday.It got removed. Do you know why? Sorry to leave this message here. Thanks.
Please God, let this simple phrase escape the editor’s scalpel.
I would like to suggest that the question of beauty, as an end in itself, may not be the right one. I am going to put forward that beauty in art, in worship, in architecture is only one of a number of by-products of living a rich and full life. Possibly even one of the lesser by-products at that.
I appreciate the comment on the in-depth description of the Old Testament tabernacle. I too would point to it as a meaningful text. I would say though that its power and its poetry is not in its presentation of beauty but rather in its ability to communicate rigor of its design intent. As with much of the context of this particular scripture it is for me about measurement and dimensions. How is the developing culture of the Jewish nation to measure itself. Old Testament scripture seems to indicate the it is through its focus on worship and caring for the vulnerable. The New Testament repeats that message… ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’
Justice and worship.
Evaluating these things based simply on our visceral response, “do I find this beautiful?” is, I find, unsatisfying. A better measurement of our art, our worship and our architecture, might come from the question, “what larger message do these expressions communicate?”. What are the extent of the dimensions it is describing. Is it an angry cry over an injustice… then let it be loud and strong. Do we have tears of sadness over loss… then let them flow unchecked. Are we in the midst of the ecstasy of miraculous love… then rejoice with all your might.
Are we being clear in what we communicate? Are we being true to our hearts and our minds? Are we, with integrity and excellence struggling through to find a larger language that can best be heard?
Out of this, may come beauty.
Mark, excellent addition to the conversation. From your artist/architect’s perspective, could this be the seed thought that delivers a manifesto on church-connected architectures that the contemporary Church could actually read and appreciate? I would love to think so.
Joe, your comment wasn’t edited or deleted. When first time comments from a source come in, they go into my moderation queue so I can confirm whether or not they are spam. About every 3 days I can actually check these, so it takes some time on occasion.
Everyone, excellent ideas. These may become fodder for later class discussions, as well. For first year university students, these guys are thinking strong thoughts. Good class, good class.
I have a two sided answer to whether a building or a worship environment needs to be beautiful. On one hand, i am astounded by a majestic architectural masterpiece that has taken years to create and i just cannot help but stand back and reflect on all the small designs and symbolism thats an individual took the time to crave or piant. These small designs help us reflect on Gods character and see his beauty. This a reminder to us that God beauty is reavealed through the gifts that people bring to the Lord.
I cannot help but see the beauty in this building because it just wasn’t slapped togther but time and thought was poured into it.with this is mind i can look at the creativity and be inspired myself to create for God with everything i am. However, if the cost of this building is such a high price that the people of the church to afford and the church does in debt to afford the new structure or new addition then it is not worth it. The church serves the people not makes then go into debt or makes the structure more important than what happens inside its doors. However, becuase of north americian standard of living i think the church tries to place to big of a priority on the church instead of creating a space for those in there community to take part in the congregation. If the church is in a poor part of the city a grand church may not meet the needs of the community instead they just need a centre that they can fellowship in. A beaitiful building is not important biblicaly becuase the church doesn’t live in a building it lives where ever there is a body of bleievers. In the bible the church met whereever. In a house, on a roof in a synogue. a beautiful building does not make the Lord invade that space any more than a single mom that calls to the Lord in her home.
I just realized I had yet to respond to this post.
Our in class discussion on beauty was a good one. I of course am a woman of equilibrium, always seeking to find balance in my daily life of worship unto God.
It was said over and over again in class that beauty should be sought in worship–but the counter; that being the idea that beauty does not matter in a physical space was also touched on. So where do we go from here? I would venture to say that both are right.
Jesus was a man that went straight to the heart when asking a question of people. You find it throughout the entirety of the gospels. So we, in turn should seek to look into our hearts as a community and ask ourselves “why do we seek beauty in things?”
People cannot deny that things which are beautiful call forth something deep within them. Just as when I look at a beautiful photo of a little girl, or a painting my mother has hung in our house… a building on the street… beauty is there. That beauty points me back to God–it makes me want to behold His beauty.
So is it important to be obsessing about ascetic in a physical structure? Is it important to be nit-picky about a certain carpet color, pews, or cross hanging in a church? No, it’s not important to obsess over those things however there is something inside of each of us that desires gazing upon beauty, and because we can allow those things to direct us to God it’s an alright thing to have a good looking building. Is it an end all? Do we need it? I would say no, no we don’t need a huge cathedral, however if the Lord speaks to us and says “build me a cathedral where people can come and know me more” then I say we do it. God can use whatever means possible to drawn people to Him. Those things can be either a shack of a building, or a church built out of stone over years and years of hard work.
Psalm 96:6 Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
Psalm 27:4 One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.
When we dwell in His house; whether that be Him abiding in us or a physical structure we then gaze on His beauty. That can be literally meditating on Him, or looking at a beautiful piece of art that points us to Him. Do we need it? No. Is there a place for beauty in a worship space? Yes.
Samuel Gallo
The structure of life I have described in buildings - the structure which I believe to be objective - is deeply and inextricably connected with the human person, and with the innermost nature of human feeling.
Christopher Alexander
True love is always connected to doing things another persons way. Becoming senseless and doing something absolutely crazy for the same of the better good is in my opinion a good cause of love.
I say all this to bring us to an altar of sacrifice and dedication to what we truly believe in.
I believe that when Jesus went to the cross for us he did it because he saw what hell was like and in that he did something crazy, but he also established the church here on planet earth.
Sometimes it’s good to be crazy when we build up people who one day will dwell in huge majestic beautiful churches and also build those who will be in normal buildings and then have those who will be somewhere in a third world Country in a smaller humbler building. In the end I agree in seeing all three of these types flourish, but witch one is better I’m not sure.
I love being wherever there is humility and a band that rocks your socks off first thing Sunday morning.
I also love hearing worship leaders bring trance music to the altar and do things like King DAVID DID like dancing around naked witch to me means dancing around a fire with dread lock hippies who spin the fire of God around the church, spreading everywhere the colours of true holiness and righteousness of God.
Freedom man!
Incoming Links
Leave a Reply